Electronic devices, such as telecommunications devices, may be connected to other such devices either wirelessly or using a wired connection. Wired connections make use of connecting cables, which may be attached to electronic devices by means of a connector or jack conforming to a predefined standard. Using connectors or jacks to connect a cable with a device facilitates easy connection and disconnection of the cable with the device, and allows the cables to be manufactured as standard, commodity items.
Connecting cables, such as telecommunications cables, often consist of one or more wires encased by a sheath. For example, Category 5 computer network cable consists of 8 individually insulated wires within a sheath. If connectors were not used to connect this cable to computer network devices, such as routers or switches, each of the 8 wires would need to be individually attached to each device.
Connectors standardise the cable ends and expose the wires in a predefined physical arrangement. This enables the cable end having a connector to be simply plugged in to a device having a corresponding connector to create a physical connection between the device and the wires within the cable. Examples of such connectors are RJ-45 and RJ-11 plugs (male connectors) and sockets (female connectors).
Although cable connectors facilitate the connection of a cable to a device, the wires within the cable still need to be connected to the connector. This may be done in a variety of ways. One way is to use an insulation displacement connector. Such connectors have an arrangement of conducting blades that cut through (or displace) the insulation on each wire to electrically connect to the wire. Wires are connected to the insulation displacement connector by pushing the wires into the conducting blade locations to cause the blades to cut through the insulation.
Despite this convenient method of connecting each wire to the connector, it remains tedious and time consuming to push each wire of a multi-wire cable into each conducting blade location, especially as this requires significant force.
It is generally desirable to overcome or ameliorate one or more of the above mentioned difficulties, or at least provide a useful alternative.